Whats the perfect scope magnification for hunting rabbits....

[Dave]

and squirrels with a .22 air rifle?

Considering you only want to be up to 40 yards away?

What do you use?

Im using a cheap x4 mag, duplex reticule, without mildots on targets at a HFT club.

There are three points of reference on mine, where the crosshairs get thicker/thinner.

So If I zero at thirty yards, and I want to shoot 40 yards, I line up where the thicker line, meets the thinner line.

Anyone else use these for HFT?

 

[Damascus]

Hi, 4 times mag is ideal for bunnies, bigger the magnification the greater the shake, as for which to use will depend on a lot of factors, the gun and the ammo are the main two.

i suggest is to zero your gun for 30 mtrs when your happy with that go out to 40 and use same point of aim and see the pellet drop (select a pellet and stick to it don't mix type and make). With trial and error you will find the point of aim at 40 to suit you and your gun on the scope you are using.

personally, if new to this don't go further than 30 till you are consistent with taking bunnies closer, no point in wounding one and it running off and die in agony.

 

[Dave]

Why metres and not yards?

Im using an air arms s400, and jsb match direct 16grains only, and consistently hitting head shots at 40 yards, 25 yards, and 15 yards, with metal duck and squirrel targets. The targets are the ones where you have to hit their head, which drops down, and then their bodies to prop the head back up.

I still dont feel confident enough to get consistent head shots in the field with rabbits though.

The other guys are all into their FT, with £800 scopes, but I dont think I need all that stuff and have told em
so. Although they think I need a higher mag.

Last thing I need is another expensive hobby, so for now, I'll just keep going up there every thursday night for an hour and get better at judging distance and trajectory. I think thats all I can do?

 

[samobaggins]

You will get lots of different answers to this question. 30yrds is a popular distance for .22 to be zeroed. If you can consistently hit within a 20 pence coin at most ranges then your doing well. As for scope mag,if your able to do it with what you have why change?

 

[sunndog]

use what you got fella. I hunted for years with a fixed 4x scope, and before that open sights

On my air rifles and rimfires now i use a cheapo 6x32 from ramsbottoms. Nice and bright, lightweight, and does the job
Lets just say my shooting gear budget is fairly unrestricted......yet i dont feel the need for £800 scopes, they wouldn't gain me any more kills on an air rifle than the £30 ones i use now

Fixed mag is good too because theres less glass to reduce light gathering and all your aimpoints stay in same place

 

[Dave]

Cheers fellas.

 

[HillBill]

I tend to keep my scopes set on 6 or 7x... they are zero'd at that, and left like that.

Wobble seems to increase at higher mags.... but it doesn't, its just the same as at 3x only you notice it more.

 

[Dave]

And for the Air Arms S400 carbine, would you recommend an adjustable bipod? If so, whats size? Cheers.

 

[samobaggins]

For me a bipod is a must! I like a 9-13 inch as it can be used on a bench or lying down. Shooting sticks are popular too.

 

[MartiniDave]

I personally wouldn't put a great lump of bi-pod on a sweet handling little rifle like a S400K. I tend to rest on trees, fence posts, my back pack or whatever. With a pcp there's no recoil to throw the aim off.

As for the scope, I like 5 or 6x, but have used as low as 2 or as high as 12. It's whatever you're used to and comfortable with really. In the old days we didn't even have scopes, but the bunnies still died.

Enjoy your sport.

Dave

 

[Hammock Hamster]

I use a 3-12 x 44 with mil dot reticule on my BSA ultra.
I have used it on both my old .22's and now on my .177's.
Zero is 30 yards as standard and I find the mil dots really useful both as a range finder (standard size rabbit at 30 yards equals 4 dots at x3 zoom) and at a known distance I can compensate (i.e aim 1.5 dots high for 35 yards).
Scope did cost me about £200 at the time which is more than I would usually spend but I was splashing out for a new set up so treated myself, it also has illuminated rets which I can honestly say I have never bothered with except when I first set it up as a novelty.

I also have a BSA lightening which currently has a cheap evilbay holo speedpoint dot sight which is used exclusively for close up work ratting or indoors.

I have QD studs on both rifles so I can use it with a bipod if I am stationary or with either a sling or nothing if I am on the move. I tend to prefer the sling if im stalking about as I can stick the rifle over my shoulder and wrap it round my support hand/wrist to stabilise a standing or kneeling shot if I have nothing to brace against.

 

[British Red]

1.5 - 5 x 20 (Simmons Whitetail Classic) is about the perfect air rifle or rimfire scope IMO. Low to the bore axis, reliable, good field of vision, enough magnification for 50 yards but almost a red dot when dialled down.


Perfick!

 

[Dave]

Someone showed me last week a new seating position, and I immeadiately began hitting target after target, but it feels wierd as the butt of the rifle is not in my shoulder.....at all! The crosshair was solid as a rock.

Like this:

 

[Damascus]

Yards, metres what's the difference? It's consistency and you asked for advice!

 

[Dave]

Are you snapping at me?

 

[Damascus]

You raised the issue I was only trying to help!

 

[sunndog]

You raised the issue I was only trying to help!

Dude, he was only asking


Dave, yards and meters is mostly just an age thing....or the age of the person that taught you

As for a bi pod. If easily removable they are handy for zero'ing and when you are layed up somewhere. But for general hunting you will get more use out of a set of shooting sticks imo

 

[Dave]

Mmmmmm..... I've got no idea why you would take my question the wrong way. Oh well. Moving on....

 

[santaman2000]

......Dave, yards and meters is mostly just an age thing....or the age of the person that taught you.....

The only caveat is to always use the same. It doesn't matter which you choose but be consistent.

 

[mick91]

Are you hunting in daylight or lamping? Imo it's low msg for night shooting and a big enough objective lens to gather light, daytime you can afford to use slightly higher msg and take them at a comfortable range. Can't shoot what you can't see after all. Personally I use a nikko sterling 4-12 X 40 AO IR on my BSA R10 and a Hawke MAP point 3-9X50 on my S410. I tend to steer well clear of bipods, to me they change the balance of the rifle too much and make them less versatile. That said they do have their place. A friend of mine recently bought a hatsan AT44 tactical, telescopic stock and foregrip, I decried it at first, and then tried shooting with it. Tactical rifles may look you look like a wolly but they're effective. Scope preference is exactly that, personal preference. If you can't hit a rabbit and kill it cleanly without fancy gear, in my opinion you shouldn't be pointing a gun at it, and most people can judge quite well with duplex and low mag